Gullible
by tendous-satoris
Summary: The first thing Koutarou heard upon entering his apartment was violent sobbing.


The first thing Koutarou heard upon entering his apartment was violent sobbing.

He had just gotten home from volleyball practice with his team, and he was absolutely _exhausted._ All he wanted to do was get a snack and go to sleep, preferably cuddling up to one of his wonderful partners.

But, apparently, one of said wonderful partners was crying, and he felt obligated to console them before sleeping. So, off he went, running to the living room as fast as his feet could take him.

" _Tsukki_?!" He cried, bug-eyed and confused. If he were being honest, he was expecting it to be Akaashi, or even Kuroo… But Tsukishima? Tsukishima never cried.

Which just made this situation all the more dire.

He was sat next to Kuroo, who looked to be attempting to console him somehow, bawling into his hands with tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Tsukki, babe, what's wrong?" He asked softly, sitting next to him on the worn out brown couch. "I swear to god, Kuroo, if this is your fault-"

"It's not, I swear!" He squeaked, looking just as distraught as Koutarou felt. "We were watching tv, and he just started crying! Is Akaashi with you? They might be able to help."

"Yeah, they'll be here in a moment. Just getting the groceries out of the car." He explained. Turning back to the blonde, cradled him in his arms and he began rubbing comforting circles on his back. "It's okay, Tsukki, there's no need to cry. Kuroo and I are right here, it'll be alright-"

He was cut off by the sound of the door opening again, revealing Akaashi, arms filled with various supermarket bags. "Tsukishima!" They cried, dropping the bags unceremoniously onto the floor and bolting over to the couch. "This better not be your fault, Bokuto-san!"

"Why'd you immediately blame me?!"

"Not the time, you guys!" Kuroo cut in. "C'mon, Tsukki, _please_ just tell us what's wrong!"

That just made him cry harder. "I don't know how to deal with crying people!" The white haired male panicked.

"Well, neither do I!" Kuroo looked about as white as a sheet. "Akaashi, help us!"

"Already on it." They replied, moving to sit next to the blonde and murmuring comforting words in his ear. "It'll be alright, Tsukki. You're safe, and we're right here. There's no need to cry."

The blonde visibly calmed down after that. "How the _fuck-_ " The eldest of the four muttered, looking at his partner incredulously. "How'd you do that?"

"My mom has really bad anxiety, so I'm used to calming people down."

"You're incredible." Kuroo said fondly. "But y'know what else is incredible?"

"Huh?"

"How utterly _gullible_ you guys are…!" He suddenly broke out into loud, boisterous laughter, Tsukki joining him almost immediately after.

"Wait, _what_?!" Koutarou looked down at the boy in his arms, who was now trembling from laughter as opposed to sobs. "The fuck just happened?!"

"I was faking." Kei explained upon calming down. "See, I'm auditioning for a part in _Love Letters_ , the next play we're doing, and that character has a huge mental and emotional breakdown, so I wanted to see if I could convince _you_ guys that I was having one. And apparently I can."

"That was mean." Kou pouted. "Were you in on this, Kuroo?"

"Yeah." He shrugged, grinning his usual Cheshire grin. "And it was _hilarious_ to watch."

"You're… very good at that, Tsukishima." Akaashi muttered. "Where did you learn how to cry on command like that?"

"Kuroo-san taught me." He replied, wiping his eyes. "He's even better at it than me, as much as I hate to admit it."

"Hell yeah I did!" He downright _giggled._

"Prove it." Koutarou said suddenly, causing Kuroo to look at him, wide eyed.

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah! I mean, Tsukki's not exactly one to give compliments lightly, and he said you were good at it, so…" He was beginning to regret this decision.

"Okay." He shrugged.

"You're just gonna _do it_?" Akaashi exclaimed.

"Well, yeah. He asked me to, and his wish is my command.~" Kuroo purred.

"Ew, don't make it _dirty._ " Tsukishima grimaced.

"Whatever. Now, gimme something to cry about. I can't just _do it_ without a reason." He paused. "Well, I _can_ , but it's more fun when I actually have something to cry _about_."

"Tsukki died!" Koutarou cried, a sudden grin on his face.

" _Hey_!"

"Works for me." Kuroo shrugged, before his eyebrows pinched together, and his eyes clouding with unshed tears. "H-he's… dead?" He murmured in a soft, small voice that make Koutarou's heart ache.

"Unfortunately." Akaashi murmured, playing along in a monotone voice.

"H-he can't be… there's no way!" False tears spilled from his eyes, and he collapsed onto Koutarou's chest. "Bo… he's n-not _really_ dead, i-is he?"

Momentary forgetting that he wasn't _really_ crying, Koutarou immediately began attempting to comfort the cat-like male, saying, "N-nope, he's alright! See? He's right next to Akaashi!"

Kuroo looked up at him with wet, teary eyes. "Really…?" His voice was small and vulnerable. Kou nodded repeatedly.

"Okay, Kuroo-san, I think you can stop now…" Tsukishima muttered.

"Aw, but I was just starting to have fun with him!" Kuroo whined, sitting up and wiping his face. "How was that, Bo?"

"Oh my _god_." Koutarou whispered to himself in horror. "I _forgot_ you were faking!"

"Wow, am I _really_ that good?" He laughed, though the way he said it clearly showed that he knew the answer to that already. "Either that, or you're even more gullible than we originally thought."

"Hey! I'm not _that_ gullible, crying people just make me panic." He pouted, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, sure thing, Bokuto-san." Tsukishima snarked.

"Whatever you say."

"Rude!"

 _Fin._


End file.
